If the key fits
by Codypup
Summary: What if in ATttD the key to the liquor cabinet had worked and Logan was there when Veronica discovered the camera and monitors?
1. Chapter 1

"You learned that from Lilly," Veronica exclaims fondly as Logan pulls out a screwdriver to unscrew a vent.  
"Lilly learned that from me," Logan replies proudly producing a key from the hole in the wall. He walks over to the bar and unlocks it, "What's your poison? Vodka? Whiskey? …Diet Snapple?" He asks surprised, pulling out a glass bottle that was hidden in the corner behind a bottle of Crystal.

He receives no answer and looks behind him, Veronica is on her knees staring at the ceiling, "What's…up?" he asks light-heartedly following her gaze. She climbs off the bed and continues looking at the ceiling. "What is it?" he asks again still failing to see what has captured her interest so exclusively.

"Look," She points to a wire running across the ceiling from the fan above the bed to the bookcase situated directly behind the headboard.

"What is that?" Logan asks now equally as interested. Veronica walks up to the bookcase and touches it lightly right in the middle. "What? You think it's some secret Scooby-Doo passageway or…?" He's cut off as Veronica pulls it apart revealing to monitors and a VCR. "What is…?"

Veronica cuts him off again pressing the on button on the VCR. A picture of the bed they were just making out on forms on one of the screens. The other screen shows a picture of the other side of the room. Logan walks over to the bed and leans on it looking up at the fan again more studiously. He looks again at the monitors and sees himself in both of the, one of an overhead view and one coming from the headboard. Suddenly it dawns on him and he leaps off the bed as if it were on fire, "Ew! Oh…that's…so many years of therapy right there…" He cries in disgust.

"It's not yours?" Veronica asks her arms in front of her. She sounds almost relieved.

"God, no, Veronica! I…NO!" He's completely disgusted now. "That's just…ugh. Can we like turn that off and close it and go inside so I can just…ugh," he gags, "forget about this?" Veronica does as she is told and walks over to him.

"Ok, I know this is like…totally and absolutely beyond disturbing but…do you really want to go back in to all the 09ers?" She asks staring at the bed.

"No," He replies sounding a bit exasperated. He thinks a moment, "Let me grab myself some booze and we can sneak in through the kitchen." He tells her walking back over to the liquor cabinet. He takes two bottles and closes it before replacing the key and the vent cover.

"So…your dad…" Veronica begins as they walk past the pool, her hand in his.

"No, don't…I swear I'll throw up." He tells her. Veronica laughs as they enter the kitchen. "Are you hungry? The pantry's over there if you want to get something, I'm going to get some ice." Veronica wanders over into the walk in pantry as Logan busies himself finding a bucket and glasses for the two of them.

Veronica is just about to pull a bag of SunChips off one of the shelves when she hears a door slam open angrily. "What are you doing in here?" Aaron's voice reverberates around the small space Veronica is now hiding in. "I went through the trouble of planning this party for you and you thank me by walking out."

Veronica edges closer to the door and peaks out. Logan's back is to her and she can see Aaron, face glowing red, standing opposite him. She backs away hoping not to be seen.

"You mean, you went through the trouble of hiring a party planner to plan this party for me." Logan corrects him; Veronica detects a smirk in his voice and has to smile to herself. Logan always has to bait people.

"Don't take that tone with me. I am your father Logan. You will respect me. I'm sick of your smartass remarks and your bad attitude. You will go back to that party and you will have a good time." Veronica inches again towards the entrance of the pantry and peeks out again. She sees Aaron has Logan's arm in a vice grip. They are both facing the pantry but Aaron is busy putting as much pressure on Logan's bicep as he can. Logan is staring at the ground but glances up and catches her eye, shaking his head, warning her to stay put.

She nods her head in understanding and moves once again to the shadows to place she can watch but can't be seen. "And what's this?" Veronica watches as Aaron uses his free hand to pick up one of the bottles of liquor. Logan doesn't answer. This seems to upset Aaron as he takes the bottle and breaks it over the counter, glass shattering everywhere. A maid hurries in, "Out!" Aaron shouts at her using the broken bottle to point towards the door she had just come through. The maid complies. Aaron grabs Logan by the back of the neck and shoves him to the ground on top of all the broken glass. Veronica moves to leave he pantry and go to him but thinks better of it and stays where she is.

"Clean this up, change your clothes and come back to the party, everyone is waiting for you." Aaron says, sounding more normal and fatherly. He exits to the Living room and back to the party.

Veronica rushes out to Logan who is still kneeing among the shards of glass. She steps gingerly over all the pieces and crouches next to him. "Are you okay?" she asks shakily.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry about… I didn't know he was gonna go off like that." Logan says standing looking down at his bleeding hands. "He usually waits until the company leaves first." Logan smirks at her. Veronica just looks at him, still visibly shaken. "Look, don't worry about it. It's not the first time." He steps over to the sink and tries to turn it on using the back of one of his hands.

"Let me help you." Veronica moves next to him and turns on the water, testing it with her own hand before taking his and gently placing it underneath the stream. She touches each cut gently making sure to wash out and small shards of glass. "Does he, um," she pauses taking the other hand unsure if she should ask the question that plagues her mind, "Does he beat you a lot Logan?" she asks quietly.

"It's not so much beating me as it is pushing me around…roughly." Logan smiles again.

She was beginning to get frustrated. Why was he making a joke out of everything, this was something serious. She wondered if anyone else knew.

"Logan," she began softly letting go of his hand.

"Really Veronica, don't ok? Just, don't." He turns away from her and reaches for a broom leaning in the corner. She notices him wince as it falls into his hand.

"Let me do that," she offers. "Go upstairs and take car of your hands."

He looks between her and the broom before complying. She begins sweeping and soon after Aaron comes back in, he stops in the doorway, seemingly surprised.

"Oh, Veronica, I didn't see you at the party…I thought you had left." He tells her looking at the broom and dustpans in her hands.

She hates this man. She hates him for what he does to Logan, but she can't let on that she knows, he may make life even worse for Logan so she lies. "Logan and I came in here to get away from everyone, I um, went to the bathroom and when I came back in Logan was trying to clean it up. He said it slipped or something. He is a bit of a klutz, I guess," she smiles tightly.

"Oh, well, let a maid get that. You are in Aaron Echolls house after all." he smiles at her stepping closer.

"Ok," she replies quietly setting the dustpan on the counter and the broom in the corner. She realizes she had backed up to the sink, the only exit directly behind him. "I guess I'll go check on Logan then, make sure he's alright." She tries to move past him but he grabs her wrist.

"Logan's fine, Veronica, stay down here with me," He told her roughly.

"I don't think…" She tries to pull away again but his grip only tightens.

"Come on Veronica. A million girls would love to be where you are right now." He urges moving close and grinding into her slightly.

"Please, Mr. Echolls," Veronica whimpers quietly.

"I always let Lilly call me Aaron but whatever you prefer, sweetheart." he purrs in her ear. He is so close now. Veronica's voice is caught in her throat and she can't make a noise but for the small whimpers.

"Come on now," he whispers, "Don't cry. We're just having some fun."

"Please get off me," she whispers back desperately, "Please."

"Veronica?" A voice calls from just outside the door.

"You don't tell him anything, understand?" Aaron whispers harshly as he moves to the other door and exits after he receives a nod.

Veronica collapses on the floor among the glass. "Veronica?" Logan calls again sounding more playful, he pushes through the door with his hip. He smiles when he sees her still kneeling on the floor, "I thought you'd be done by now…" He laughs walking closer. "Hey, are you okay?" He asks noticing she wasn't even cleaning anymore, he kneels next to her.

She wraps her arms around him. Her mind was racing. What had Aaron said about Lilly? Did he do this to her too? Did she comply more willingly? Probably. Suddenly everything clicked.

"Logan we have to go to the Kanes," she tells him standing up shakily.

"What?" Logan asks standing up as well, he looks at her a moment and repeats, "_What?_ Veronica, what happened while I was upstairs?"

"We need to get out of here, I'll tell you in the car," she grabs his wrist afraid of injuring the palms of his hands further.

"Veronica, what happened?" Logan prodded again.

"Shh," she pulls him close to the wall. Aaron's voice wafts over them.

"No, I'm sorry Madison, I've decided to stay out of movies for good. Logan's been having a tough time with…"

"Are you still upset about my dad?" he asks, "Cause I told you…"

"Shh," she tells him again. She waits until the voices fade away, "I don't want to say anything yet, I just want to confirm something." she whispers and leads him out the front door and to his car, "give me your keys." she holds out her hand.

"You think you can handle it?" he asks with a smirk.

"You can't drive with your hands like that," she tells him sternly.

He ponders this a moment, "yeah, fine," he tries to reach into his jean pocket but winces.

"I'll get it," Veronica steps closer, "Which one?" Logan motions with his hand to his front right pocket. She digs her hand in, "God, since when did guys pants get this tight?"

"These were made for special occasions like this one," Logan responds, loving the feeling of his girlfriend's hand in his front pocket.

"Cool it," she tells him finally retrieving the keys.

"So are you gonna tell me what's going on?" he asks leaning against the driver's side door. "Cause I'm might not move if you don't," he crosses his arms.

"Trust me," she tells him looking directly into his eyes.

Logan looks up to the stars and sighs before pushing himself off the side of his car. "How can I argue with that?" he asks smirking again.

Veronica stares at him a moment before leaning up and kissing him softly in the side of his mouth. She lands back on the heels of her feet, "Get in." she opens the door and starts the ignition.


	2. Chapter 2

Well, sorry I haven't updated. Thanks for all the great reviews and putting this on your story alert list. I know the conclusion Veronica comes to seems a bit out there, but it does seem like a plausible conclusion when you look at all the clues I guess. Well here's thesecond chapter for you. I hope to have the third one up soon. (It'll be sooner than this one becuase I actually have my weekly dose of VM again now that it's off hiatus)

Chapter Two

"So, we're in the car," Logan point's out, his arm resting on the roof of the car as they drive down the road towards the Kane's, "are you going to tell me what we're doing. I think after our little surprise 'coming out' party, Duncan isn't going to be the most inviting person."

"I think…" she pauses. She's not sure how to tell him about her …theory. It's a bit out there, but it's also plausible and worth checking out.

"What's going on?" Logan asks again a bit more seriously.

"I have a theory…I think I know what happened to Lily," she stares straight at the road. She doesn't want to see his face. She doesn't want to tell him what her theory is. She almost hopes she's wrong…almost.

He's silent for a moment before… he clears his throat attempting not to sound too emotional in front of his new girlfriend. "You think you know who the killer is?" he asks, "I thought you said it was probably Duncan,"

"Well, Duncan's still a possibility," She whispers pulling onto the street where the Kane's. "But…" she pauses again, she can't tell him, not until she knows for sure, one way or the other. "Look, I just want to make sure."

"Veronica, please," Logan begs, he has to know.

"I don't want you to get hurt, but you will," She whispers taking a deep breath. She tries to compose herself as they pull into the Kane's driveway. She parks the car and turns to Logan, "Duncan will let us in, right?" she asks, sniffling a little. "I mean, he has to, right?"

"I'll make sure he does if this is what we need to do." Logan tells her brushing some hair out of her face. He kisses her forehead before climbing out of the car.

They reach the front door and Veronica rings the bell. "I think maybe I should do the talking. Again, physical force is not always the answer." she smiles at him. He takes her hand in his but Veronica drops it when she sees Duncan through the glass.

He seems to try and hide in the shadows a moment, trying to decide whether he should talk to them or not. Finally, he opens the door and stares at them coolly.

"Duncan," Veronica starts slowly.

"What do you want from me?" he asks looking at the both of them angrily. "First, you accuse me of I killed my sister. At least, I thought, you were on my side Logan, and then you go off with her. I thought you were my friend."

"Duncan, we're not here to talk about that," Veronica pleads, "I think there might be proof in Lily's room to who her killer is."

"What are you talking about? The police went through there. I know you think you're smarter than everyone Veronica, but I'm sure the police would have caught such incriminating evidence." Duncan tells her hotly.

"Not if they didn't look in her air vents." Veronica responds desperately.

Duncan pauses now. He can't dispute this fact. The police had never looked in the air vents in his sister's room. The only people that had known about that were standing on his front porch at this moment. He wonders why he had never thought to look there, or tell someone.

"What do you think is in there?" he asks a bit more interested in what she has to say.

"Please can we go in? We'll look together, I don't know if I'm right" she asks glancing edgily at Logan who is staring at her intensely.

Duncan catches the glance and stands up straighter, "tell me now. How do I know you're not making it up and you're not just trying to plant tiny cameras or something in here?"

"I wouldn't do that Duncan," Veronica tries to convince him.

"Really, because that seems right up your alley, right up there breaking into a doctor's office to look into someone's medical history without their permission." He crosses his arms.

"Duncan, she's telling the truth," Logan says, speaking for the first time since their arrival.

Duncan glances at his former-best-friend before turning back to the petite blonde, "What are you expecting to find Veronica?"

She glances at Logan quickly before answering, "Tapes."

"Tapes of what?" Duncan asks with a slight chuckle of disbelief.

Veronica sighs looking at the two young men standing with her. "Tonight, at the party…Logan's dad…came on to me, sort of."

"What?"

"What?" Logan asks moving closer to her, "I…when? When I was upstairs? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Just…" she gives him a look telling him to stay quiet. "He mentioned Lilly. I think he probably did the same thing to her…and knowing Lilly…" she trailed off avoiding Logan's gaze.

"She probably gave in without a second thought," Duncan finishes for her.

Veronica looks up at him and nods. "We also found cameras in the pool house above the beds…I think they were having an affair when she died. She told me at the car wash she had a really great secret, I think it was the tapes I think she may have found them. And to get attention…"

"She'd have wanted to display them," Duncan adds catching on, "But why does this mean Logan's dad…"

"Aaron is …violent…" Veronica sighs unsure of how else to put it.

"No," Logan says, stepping away from the two, "Veronica this is some sick way of getting back at me for Shelly Pomroy's party isn't it? Please say this is a joke. She wouldn't do that to me. Not my dad… he…" Logan trails off. This is too much. It can't be true…they wouldn't.

"Logan, I wouldn't make this stuff up…" Veronica tells him reaching out but he pulls away. He doesn't seem to do it because he's angry with her, he seems sincerely overcome with uncertainty and hurt, so she tries again, this time grabbing his hand and pulling him close to her again. "I might be wrong, this is all speculation… but it could have happened, we need to know. Either to find out Aaron really did it or to cross him off our list. Please, let's just go in and find the tapes," She looks at Duncan when she says this letting him know that she wants to go in now.

"Fine, just…Veronica, try not to let my mom see you she'll…"

"Bite my head off, I know," She follows Duncan into the house, pulling Logan gently behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

Two chapter in one day! Lucky you! I better get some great reviews after this...Thanks for the distraction from my econ project

Chapter Three

The three make it to Lily's room with only one incident of running into Celeste. Luckily, Veronica had turned the corner before she was spotted. Celeste had been perfectly friendly to Logan; it seemed Duncan hadn't told his parents about their relationship yet.

"So they should be right up here then?" Duncan asks, still sounding a bit skeptical as he climbs on Lily's old desk chair unscrewing the air vent with the electric screwdriver she had kept above the doorway.

Veronica watches Duncan's actions entranced while Logan glances around the room fingering familiar objects. It's the first time either of them had been in her room since the wake a year and half ago, before the accusations went flying. But Veronica is on a mission and she won't be distracted by sentimental and nostalgic feelings.

"Well…There are tapes in here" Duncan says pulling down three cassettes.

Veronica takes them out of his hand looking momentarily pleased with herself. She looks over at Logan standing next to Lily's bed on the other side of the room. She feels sick and hands the tapes back to Duncan.

"I've got a camera in my room," Duncan says walking towards the door. He pauses when he realizes Logan and Veronica aren't following, rather they seem to be stuck in a staring contest, "We need to know if these are the right tapes," Duncan explains, speaking a little louder.

Logan looks away first following Duncan towards the door. Veronica follows his movements closely before walking after them.

They walk down the long hall to Duncan's bedroom, a big screen TV at the foot of is bed. He pulls a video camera off a shelf and proceeds to set it up.

Veronica turns back to Logan, unsure of what to say, or how to make this better for him. He was most likely about to see his father and his first love having sex in hi-def, and Veronica wasn't sure he could handle it. "Logan," she whispers quietly willing herself to say something to comfort him.

He looks back at her with his trademark smirk, "Hey, it's going to be alright. Like you said, you could be wrong about this," He reaches out and grabs her hand.

Veronica squeezes his hand uneasily…he was in denial, and she's sure that will make the reality even worse for him.

"Are you guys ready?" Duncan asks placing the first tape in his camera. He presses play and an image of the bed Veronica and Logan had been making out on only and hour ago appears on the screen. Lily dances onto the screen and leans back on the bed calling for her lover.

"That's the day she died. That our pep squad uniform," Veronica points out.

Logan remains silent.

The onscreen Lily glances up at them from the bed then looks across the room. She gets of the bed and after a moment the screen turns black.

"Put in the other ones," Veronica urges grasping her Logan's hand in both of hers.

Duncan complies and again the have a shot of the Echoll's pool house. Lily is in pure ecstasy writhing on another's body the only thing covering her is her black bra. She rolls over and Aaron's face comes into view staring at the head board camera callously. Duncan stops on the frame, Aaron's smug features frozen on the screen.

Veronica feels Logan's hand fall limply from hers as he staggers backwards falling onto the bed.

"Duncan, call the police," Veronica says sternly. He nods and leaves the room as Veronica sinks down next to Logan.

"I'm going to kill him," Logan says his voice breaking slightly, "I want to kill him, Veronica…How could she…" His voice falters and his head falls into his hands as he sobs.

"Logan, I'm so sorry," Veronica whispers hugging him to her. His head falls onto her shoulder and she can feel her jacket dampening. She cries quietly into his hair, holding him tighter.

"Your dad's here!" Duncan says in a loud and urgent whisper rushing back into the room. "Aaron's here. He already saw your car in the driveway, Logan, he's looking for you."

Veronica pulls away slightly from Logan looking shocked, "What? No, he can't be here…you have to get rid of him."

"He saw the car, what am I supposed to say?" Duncan asks exasperatedly.

"Logan! You're dad's here! He says you should come back to the party!" Celeste calls from the first floor.

"I'll go." Logan offers standing up wiping his face. "Veronica, I don't want you to come down until we leave, then go home."

"Logan, I don't want you to do anything stupid. I'm going with you," Veronica stands up.

"No, he…Just please Veronica I want you to be safe," Logan pleads with her.

"I want you to be safe. Now that we know what…Aaron is capable of…"

"How about this, Veronica and I will trail you in one of our cars…yours is too conspicuous." Duncan suggests.

Logan nods reluctantly and turns to leave, "Don't do anything stupid Logan," Veronica calls after him softly.

Duncan and Veronica hear Logan descend the stairs and make their way out to the landing and peer down to where Logan and Aaron Echolls stand with Celeste. The three talk softly for a minute before Aaron and Logan depart.

"Let's go," Duncan whispers as he begins to walk down the stairs.

"Hold on," Veronica runs back into his room grabbing the three cassettes and stuffing them in her jacket pocket, "Ok, ready."


End file.
